Article of furniture



March 26, 1963 A. PHILIPS ETAL ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed Feb. 18. 1960' FIG- 2- FIG.

INVENTORS.

ANNUNCIATA PHILIPS, BY RAYMOND C. PHILIPS,

ATTORNEY.

March 26, 1963 A. PHILIPS ETAL ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Feb. 18, 1950 INVENTORS. ANNUNCIATA PHILIPS,

RAYMOND C PHILIPS, BY-

QWWK X,TMLM

' ATTORNEY -& March 26, 1963 'A. PHILIPS ETAL 3,

I ARTICLE OF, FURNITURE Filed Feb. 18, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 5.

FIG. 6.

INVENTORS. ANNUNCIATA PHILIPS, 'RAYMOND c. PHJLIPS,

HMIL 272W ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,082,435 ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Annunciata Philipsand Raymond C. Philips, both of 2111 Drew St., Houston, Tex. Filed Feb.18, 1960, Ser. No. 9,508 2 Claims. (Cl. -2)

This invention is a combination seating, sleeping, and storage unit.

The invention to be described herein is a multi-purpose furniture unit.It is primarily usable in small or limited floor space areas such as anefficiency apartment. However, it is adaptable for use in any type ofliving quarters or in any room of said living quarters.

In efiiciency apartments orother small living quarters, the floor spaceis at a premium. It is highly desirable that the space taken up by eachfurniture unit be kept to a minimum. If one furniture unit can be usedfor many purposes which formerly required many furniture units, spacecan be saved.

Another important feature in choosing the furniture one would use in anefficiency apartment or other small living quarters is whether or notthe multi-purpose furniture unit can be changed from one purpose, suchas for sleeping, to another purpose, such as for storage or as a sofa,with a minimum amount of effort and without increasing the spacerequired. This invention provides us with an article of furniture whichserves many, many purposes not only in small living quarters but in anytype of home. Specifically, it can be used as a storage compartment, asa bed, or as a sofa. Thus, one unit provides storage, sleeping, andseating.

This new article of furniture can be changed from a sofa to a bedwithout any movement of the furniture itself and without any increase orchange in the floor space required when it is changed from sleeping to aseating unit or vice versa.

The invention as well as its advantages will be further understood byreference to the following detailed description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the new seating, sleeping, andstorage unit in use as a sofa;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the base member of FIG. 1 with thestorage means exposed;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the new seating, sleeping, andstorage unit when used as a combination bed and storage means;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the base member of FIGS. 1, 2, and3 being used in conjunction with other storage and bookcases;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a member which may be added to thefurniture unit of FIG. 1 in order to improve sleeping comfort; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the manner in which themember of FIG. 5 fits on the base.

Referring to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. 1, thisinvention includes a rectangular base member indicated generally by thenumeral 10. The base member 10 includes a horizontal solid wood topportion 12.

The base 10 may be supported by a plurality of leg members 14 with oneleg member being located at each corner of the base 10.

The base member 10' serves as a storage member. For this purpose, aplurality of sliding drawers 16 are provided within the base 10. Onedeep drawer and two shallow drawers can be used or any other arrangementas long as the drawers remain within the limits of the base 10 itself.

If desired, as shown in FIG. 2, one of the drawers may include a lift-upmirror 18 and a lift-out cosmetic and/ or collar and cuff link tray 20.The inclusion of the lift-up mirror 18 and cosmetic tray 20 enlarges theusefulness and purposes this new furniture unit can be used for.

.Notioe for all of the drawers 16 are located in the front of the base10. This is highly important. By having the drawers located in thefront, the materials stored within the base 10 are easily accessible.Thus, the base 10 can be placed just a short distance away from a walland the base need never be moved in order to obtain access to thestorage compartment. This is highly important, particularly in smallliving quarters.

Placed on top of the solid wood portion 12 of base 10 is a cushion 22.The cushion 22 is preferably removably disposed upon the solid wood top12. The removable cushion 22 and the base 10' serve as a bed and/ or aseating member. Since the base 10 and cushion 22 serve as a seatingmember, the height of the base and cushion is such that the averageadult can sit comfortably upon the cushion 22. Preferably, the totalheight of the base and cushion should range from about inches to inches.The cushion 22 may be made of foam rubber or any other material commonlyused for sleeping purposes. A removable bolster or backrest 24 may beincluded upon the cushion 22 for added comfort.

The cushion 22 and base 10 also serve as a bed. Thus, the dimensions ofthe cushion 22 are necessarily such that one can sleep comfortablythereon. Thus, the cushion has substantially the same length and widthas the solid wood top portion 12 of the base 10. For example, the basemay be from 6 feet to 7 feet long and from 30 inches to 36 inches widewith the height and width of the cushion 22 being substantially thesame. If the cushion is made of foam rubber, it should rangeapproximately 4 /2 inches in thickness. The bolsters 24 can beapproximately 12 inches to 18 inches high, with the length and widthvarying according to the size of the unit. There may be anywhere fromone bolster to several cushions as backrests.

The unit can be manufactured in any style, such as modern, contemporary,traditional, provincial, colonial, oriental, etc.

In order to use this new furniture unit as a bed, it is only necessarythat the bolster 24 be removed and bedding means be placed upon thecushion 22. This use of the unit 18 shown in FIG. 3, which shows thebolster 24 removed and the usual bedding 26 and pillow 28 placed on andabout the cushion.

Notice that at all times the base 10 is left in the same positionregardless of what the unit is being used for. Thus, whether the unit isused for a bed, sofa, and/or storage means, no additional floor spaceand no movement of the unit is required. Also, the drawers open from thefront, so it is not necessary to move the unit in another position toutilize its storage capacity. The unit is relatively simple inconstruction and does not include the conventional hinges, swivel-s, orother gadgets currently needed in order to convert from bed to sofa tostorage unit. No time-wasting, space-wasting conversion is necessary.This units functional versatility cannot be matched by any furniture onthe market today.

If additional sleeping comfort is desired, the member shown in FIG. 5can be inserted on top of the base 10. The cushion 22 is then placedupon the inserted member.

The inserted member includes a frame 50. A plurality of transversespringmembers 52 and a plurality of longitudinal spring members 54 are mountedacross the upper portion of the frame 50. Spring members 52 and 54 areinterlacing members and may be made in the form of ribbonsv made fromplastic webbing, link springs, or other suitable material to provide asubstantially nonsagging spring.

As shown in FIG. 6, the inside perimeter of the frame 50 is providedwith a cut-out portion 60. The cut-out 3 portion 60 of frame 50 mateswith the edge of top member 12 of the base 10.

If desired, the frame member 50 may be left permanently as a part of thecombined storage, sleeping, and seating unit. Notice that the inclusionof the frame 50 does not increase the amount of space required and if itis left permanently on the unit, no more additional eifort is requiredto convert the unit from a sleeping means to a seating means thanrequired by the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

The base and the storage means such as the drawers 16 can be used formany other purposes if a sofa or bed is no longer needed. This can bedone by simply removing the bolster 24 and cushion 22. One such use isshown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, an additional furniture unit 30including additional storage space such as drawers 32 and a bookcase 34has been placed upon the solid wood top 12 of the base 10. A lamp 36 mayalso be placed on top of the base 10.

The storage base 10 can also be used for correlated units such asbookcases, room dividers, sliding door cabinets, chest of drawers, andother such units. Thus, the base .10 makes an attractive piece offurniture when it is no longer needed as a sofa or bed.

We claim:

1. A multi-purpose article of furniture comprising: a rectangular basehaving a solid flat top and provided with storage means accessible fromthe front, thereof, a frame removably positioned on said base, theinside perimeter of said frame having a cut-out portion extending fromthe bottom of the frame so that said frame rests on the top of saidsolid flat top with the cut-out portion mating with the top and edge ofsaid solid flat top, spring means supported by said frame, and a cushionresting on the frame, said base, frame, and cushion having a totalheight such that the average adult can sit comfortably thereon, and saidbase, frame, and cushion also each having a length and width of properdimensions to provide for comfortable sleeping for the average adult.

2. A multi-purpose article of furniture in accordance with claim 1wherein the spring means includes a pinrality of interlacing transversesprings and longitudinal springs mounted across the upper portion ofsaid frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS780,815 Roberson Jan. 24, 1905 1,327,941 Camp Ian. 13, 1920 1,391,566Musse'lman Sept. 20, 1921 1,949,869 Macdonald Mar. 6, 1934 2,139,698Schreiber Dec. 13, 1938 2,480,025 Hunter Aug. 23, 1949 2,483,938 RoystonOct. 4, 1949 2,563,706 Capron et al. Aug. 7, 1951 2,627,611 Nichols Feb.10, 1953 2,774,977 Mintz Dec. 25, 1956 2,913,040 Abajian Nov. 17, 19592,925,851 Weiss Feb. 23, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 209,509 Great Britain Jan.17, 1924 254,755 Switzerland Jan. 3, 1949

1. A MULTI-PURPOSE ARTICLE OF FURNITURE COMPRISING: A RECTANGULAR BASE HAVING A SOLID FLAT TOP AND PROVIDED WITH STORAGE MEANS ACCESSIBLE FROM THE FRONT, THEREOF, A FRAME REMOVABLY POSITIONED ON SAID BASE, THE INSIDE PERIMETER OF SAID FRAME HAVING A CUT-OUT PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE FRAME SO THAT SAID FRAME RESTS ON THE TOP OF SAID SOLID FLAT TOP WITH THE CUT-OUT PORTION MATING WITH THE TOP AND EDGE OF SAID SOLID FLAT 